Proclaiming the one true God to all

Children of the Lord

Mark 10:13-16: People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them. ¹⁴ But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. ¹⁵ Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.” ¹⁶ And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.

            Being retired, I wanted to continue to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ death and resurrection to the world. After much prayer and talking with my children, blogging was where I was led. I am not sure of all the rules for blogging, so pardon me in advance if I make mistakes. These blogs will be based on the writings of both the Old and New Testament and are meant for; both Christians and non-Christians, young and old, men and women, rich and poor, etc. I will attempt to put one blog out per week, the Lord willing.

          What do you first think of when you hear the words child or children? Do you consider that to mean a young child; like an infant, or toddler, or preschooler? In our text from the book of St. Mark we hear Jesus talking to his disciples. They were preventing the parents from bringing their children to Jesus. Note the words sternly and indignant. We don’t think of these words as positive or complementary, do we? Jesus, in no uncertain terms, told his disciples that they were doing something definitely wrong. In their defense however, the disciples thought they were protecting Jesus. They did not understand at this point, that Jesus had come to save the lost children of Israel and the world.

          I want to go back to who you think children are. You hear throughout the Old Testament that Israel and all believers were called children. They were the children of Israel and had been called by him to bring this good news to the world. What was that good news? It goes all the way back to the book of Genesis when Adam and Eve sinned against God by eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Man had fallen into sin. This means, in very simple terms, that they would suffer for all eternity, separated from God. God had mercy on the children of the world, and from the very beginning he had a plan to save them from their sin. We know and believe that all children born of Adam and Eve were born into sin.

          This is why God sent his only begotten son into the world. Jesus came into the world to do what we are incapable of doing. He came in order that he might atone for our sins, that is buying us back. The only way this can be done is for him to live a perfect life without sin, and that’s what he did. And then he went to the cross, that very ugly cross, where he took upon himself the sin of the entire world. He paid for it with his own death, that we might have life.

          This is where children are back in the picture. As children of God, it is our calling to tell the world what God has done for us. Children in this case, not only refers to infants, toddlers, or preschooler’s; but to all children who have been baptized and believe through the power of the Holy Spirit that God has forgiven us. We have received God’s righteousness as we have put on Christ. Our life is changed! From this point on we no longer serve the world, our own sinful nature, for Satan himself. Rather we serve God in all that we do, say, or think.

As you look over the text from Mark 10:13-16, consider it from your perspective as a child of God right now. Consider yourself if you have children, are they hearing the word about the only true God or not? Do you teach them in your own house about Jesus and why he came? Are you actively involved yourselves and set a good example for your children, no matter what their age?  To this day Jesus gets indignant and stern with those people who keep his children from coming to him. This means children of all ages, for we look at ourselves as the children of God. In verse 15 it says; Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.” We enter the kingdom of God as his children at different ages in our lives. It makes no difference how old you are. We all know what it means when St. Mark said; And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them. We hear these words, or words similar to this, at the end of our worship services. The Lord bless you and keep you and may you always be children of the Lord.

Go in peace and serve the Lord.